Objective

One main goal of robotics is to aid or replace humans in dangerous or
mundane tasks. This goal is best achieved through the creation of the universal
helper, which would be able to aid humans in any general task, as opposed to
having many specialized robots such as robotic vacuum cleaners. The
anthropomorphic nature of humanoid robots makes them ideal partners for
interacting and collaborating with humans, as humans are used to working with
other humans in environments primarily designed for humans. Although an
important aspect in humanoid robotic research, interaction and collaboration are
aspects of humanoid robots not yet widely studied. Inter-humanoid robot
collaboration expands their utility, allowing them to function in teams. Humanoid
robot interaction and collaboration is a complex matter, encompassing many
different aspects of robotics each with their own challenging and unique
problems: from low level stability and control, to higher level interaction
planning, and even inter-agent communication. Thus, we beg to ask the following
questions:

How can humanoid robots interact and
collaborate better with humans, or vice versa?

How can humanoid robots interact and
collaborate better between themselves?

What can be learned and inferred from studying
human-human, human-humanoid, or humanoid-humanoid interactions, and can one provide
insights on the others?

This workshop aims to bring together researchers engaged in humanoid robot interaction and collaboration research to discuss the unique challenges and solutions currently in the field, and discuss the directions in which this field should progress. The goal would be also to connect researchers who focus on the mathematics of humanoid robot interaction, to those who study the more human side robot interaction: emotions, perception, and trust, and how they can be reflected in robot control. The workshop will feature three modalities to foster open-ended discussions: a small question period after each talk, a poster session during coffee breaks, and a panel discussion at the end of the workshop that will feature some questions solicited from researchers in the field ahead of time.

If there are any particular questions or topics you wish to be discussed during the panel discussion, please forward them to Chris Wong christopher (dot) wong2 (at) usherbrooke (dot) ca and we will try to incorporate them into the discussion.

Call for Papers

As part of this workshop to encourage dialogue between researchers, and especially students, we welcome participants to submit a 1-2 page paper in the IEEE Transactions double-column format as part of the workshop session. Accepted papers will have the opportunity to present their work as a poster along with a 1-2 minute teaser presentation to highlight their poster prior to the poster session. Accepted papers will be made available on the workshop website.